Even more impressive is that many of Scientology's major real estate holdings were acquired in the past decade. From 2004 to 2011, Scientology claims to have doubled its portfolio with 23 new churches.

Hundreds of millions of dollars have gone into buying up landmark businesses, renovating them and rebranding them as ornate Scientology centers — perhaps in an attempt to alter the religion's reputation as a shadowy cult.

We put together a list of some of the movement's choicest holdings, which span the globe and serve as public relations pitches for recruiting and training new members.